"Sticky bomb" will be the title of the next Bear Quartet album.

Check out the video for "South bay" from Finnish rock act Paynbird: mov" target=_blank>https://www.kollektiv.no/southbay.mov

Punk-rock mp3 blog Strange Reaction on Finnish punx Terveet Kadet: m/archives/2006/03/16/terveet-kadet/" target=_blank>https://www.strangereaction.com/archives/2006/03/16/terveet-kadet/

Finnish hardcore act St. Hood has posted a new video clip from a show at Gloria in Helsinki n march 4: mv" target=_blank>https://www.sthood.net/video/sthoodgloria.wmv

Jezebel Recordings has posted soundclips from their new split EP "Fellow birds" with Rickard Jäverling on one side and the collaboration of Kalle Sjölin, Oskar Schönning, Kristian Fredmark and Henrik Svensson on the other: m/" target=_blank>https://www.jezebelrecordings.com/
I'll be getting copies in-stock before too long.

Finnish mp3 blog Lupatarkastaja on the Regina remix of the Boys of Scandinavia single "Good looking": mizdat.info/2006/03/17/boys-of-scandinavia-good-looking-regina-remix-mp3/" target=_blank>https://lupatarkastaja.samizdat.info/2006/03/17/boys-of-scandinavia-good-looking-regina-remix-mp3/
If you're into dancey stuff like The Embassy and haven't checked out BoS, you're missing out big time.

Enslaved's new album "Ruun" has been confirmed for a may 8 release in Norway, may 22 across Europe.

The Genuine Fakes, the full-band project of Swedish singer/songwriter Johan Bergqvist, has posted a brand new song on myspace: myspace.com/thegenuinefakes" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/thegenuinefakes

Norwegian act The School has signed with KongTiki and will release their debut album on the label this coming fall. However, the band will also have their debut EP "mädchen" reissued. Go to their website for samples: m/" target=_blank>https://www.theschoolrock.com/

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Petter - P
02. Sebastian - Sebastian
03. Christer Sjögren - King creole
04. The Knife - Silent shout
05. Rigmore Gustafsson - On my way to you
06. Laleh - Laleh
07. magnus Uggla - Ett bedårande barn av sin tid
08. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
09. Andreas mattsson - The lawlessnes of the ruling classes
10. Thåström - Skebokvarnsv 209
11. Sanna Nielsen - Nära mej - nära dej
12. Cue - Guide in blue
13. The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity
14. Lisa Ekdahl - Pärlor av glas
15. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
16. In Flames - Come clarity
17. Agnes - Agnes
18. Thåström - Solo vol 1
19. Darin - Darin
20. Son of a Plumber - Son of a Plumber

The Village Voice covers the special Opeth show "Chronology mCmXCIV-mmV" in which they played rarely heard songs from the entire band's career: m/music/0611,bosler,72487,22.html" target=_blank>https://www.villagevoice.com/music/0611,bosler,72487,22.html

Danish singer/songwriter Lasse Vestergaard has posted some brand new demo tracks on his myspace page: myspace.com/lassevestergaard" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/lassevestergaard

Sorry, still on vacation so no news updates yet, but I do have a nice, large batch of reviews for ya: m/index.php?article=172">[click here]
Cheers!

Billie the Vision & the Dancers
The world according to Pablo
Love Will Pay The Bills

When getting to know Billie the Vision and the Dancers music for the first time it's easy to dismiss it as happy-go-lucky pop, similar to Håkan Hellström and the euphoria it brings. But underneath that facade lies a gloomy feeling that never leaves and that is what I really enjoy about this band. The seven piece band mixes head-turning singalong tunes with lyrics about insufficiency, family-issues, friends, unanswered love and, most of all, Pablo gets to you. According to the band, Pablo could be anyone out there, personifying those feelings we carry within each day. Billie the Vision and the Dancers let those feelings out with smart songwriting and some shoegaze influences. And in a really great way too! This is their second album (cunningly established on the song "One more full length record") and though I find the first one, "I was so unpopular in school and now they're giving me this beautiful bicycle", a bit more coherent and in your face, this one proves that Billie the Vision is here to stay.
- Jonas Appelqvist

Black Audio
Iron rhino
If Society

Despite the fact that plenty of attempts at combining singer/songwriter folk and electronica have been done in the past few years, very few have been successful. Black Audio, despite having a more electric side to their music, fit in with many of those unsuccessful bands. There is a lot of influences in there but the dominant is Dylan, in his various forms, and combined with the uninteresting electronics they produce, it makes for a very painful listen. The idea is good, the execution just sucks.
- Simon Thibaudeau

Hets
s/t
Etikett: Hets/V2

If I had a dime for every time a new Swedish super-group forms, well, I'd had a lot of dimes, but this just goes to show the cooperative nature of Swedish musicians that wants to make them work together. markus Krunegård has proven himself to be quite a songsmith with Laakso, and he continues the trend here, but with an vastly different sound. Hets are a different breed, drawing elements from the Ramones, Black Flag and Gorilla Biscuits. The music and raw and very uptempo and the vocal lines squeal in their hugging-the-mic delivery. The ballads on the album soften the feel, but the fast tracks such as"Napalm på Östermalm", "Trist javisst" and "Ulf" is where the band shines. A solid debut record where each member brings their best.
- Matt Giordano